Huffman’s promotion

James Huffman will be a tough act to follow at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County.

Huffman, the administrator at our hospital for the past five years, has been promoted to the same job at the rapidly growing 339-bed hospital in the Baptist system in DeSoto County. Based on his handling of the job here in Union County, we’re not surprised that he was singled out for such a plum job in the Baptist health care system. Huffman is a respected administrator who understands the delicate balance between being the boss and having good synergy and relationships with both employees and the community. He was both involved in the community and involved the community in the hospital through its effective community outreach programs. During his tenure, the hospital made a number of advances, including the 2008 expansion of the women’s center, a new MRI, and a helicopter pad to facilitate patient transfers. The hospital currently is adding a second CT scanner. We have said several times how fortunate New Albany is to have a strong not-for-profit hospital that is focused just on good patient care rather than making a profit for investors as is true in so many other communities. James Huffman has been a good steward of that mission here in Union County. We know the community wishes him and his family well as they move on to the Memphis suburbs.